Boguski, Manitoba aim for top at 15u natioanls

Manitoba’s 15-and-under baseball team starts its journey at the Ray Carter Cup in Summerside, P.E.I., today, and Brandon native Beckett Boguski hopes he and his teammates will do their province proud by bringing home a championship.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” said Boguski ahead of the tournament. “Our team is pretty good and we have a chance to win some games.”

Team Manitoba’s 15U squad has been working together since the beginning of the summer. In just over two months, they’ve had to get themselves ready for games against some of the best teams in Canada.

In that time, they’ve played in two smaller tournaments and competed in two exhibition games against Team Saskatchewan.

“The one (tournament) we did pretty well, but there wasn’t a final because a team dropped out and the other one we played in, we placed fifth or sixth,” said Boguski.

He plays pitcher and first base for Team Manitoba. As a pitcher, he likes throwing sliders, which he considers to be his best pitch.

“There’s lots of movement on it so batters can’t really hit it,” said Boguski. “And with my fastball it’s hard for them to time it up.”

Pitching is one of the key aspects of any baseball team. A strong pitcher can go a long way to winning games, and in that regard, Boguski is a big contributor to this team.

“He’s a very competitive player who’s got a lot of potential, especially on the mound,” said head coach Owen Harms. “He’s able to get outs in multiple ways. I really like his off-speed stuff … When he starts locating, he’s very effective on the mound.”

Boguski is just one of the pitchers that the 15U squad has at its disposal. Having an array of players who can step on the mound will make them a dangerous opponent for other teams at the Ray Carter Cup.

“I really like our pitching depth this year. We have a lot of strong arms going into it,” said Harms. “We also have bats that will go out and compete every at bat.”

Boguski isn’t the only Westman athlete on the provincial team: Joining him are Kevin Elliott of Carberry and another Brandonite, Carter McCannel.

For Boguski, it’s nice to have a couple familiar faces on the team. It made getting to know the whole group easier.

Though the kids may come from all over the province, Harms says they have gelled very quickly into a cohesive unit. One of the reasons for that is Harms’ coaching ethos.

“One of our big things that we preach as a coaching staff is team first,” said Harms. “The name on the back represents who you are, but the name on the front represents who you play for. Both are super important parts of it, but at the end of the day, when you play for each other, that’s when you find success.”

Being part of Team Manitoba is prestigious for the players in these age groups. For many, it’s the first time they have experienced playing for a larger region that they represent. It’s something like how Olympic athletes describe representing their country, just on a smaller scale.

Boguski is excited to represent his province. He knows that in order to succeed the team will need to be on the same page.

“We have lots of players who can field and hit and pitch and every player is strong in their own way,” said Boguski. “We have to play consistent and minimize errors.”

One of the challenges Team ‘Toba will face at the Ray Carter Cup is a lack of information. Playing against familiar strategies and faces within the province is more comfortable than facing teams you’ve never seen.

“It’s always a tough challenge going into that tournament,” said Harms who will be attending the Ray Carter Cup for the fifth consecutive year. “You try and do your research and look to see what other teams have done throughout the year, but it’s always a challenge going into a tournament like this without knowing too much about the teams.”

What they do know is that the teams will be strong. At this level, there really isn’t a bad team, since each is comprised of the top ball players in their province.

“I’m expecting they’re going to be pretty good and able to hit the ball all over the field,” said Boguski.

The Manitoba 15U squad will start the tournament today with a game against Nova Scotia at 1 p.m. CDT.

On Friday, they play Newfoundland at 10 a.m., and the host P.E.I. at 4 p.m. On Saturday, they will finish the round-robin portion of the tournament with a clash against New Brunswick at noon.

Once the tournament starts, it will all come down to who rises to occasion. Harms’ advice to Boguski and the rest of the team is to enjoy the moment.

“I know there were lots of guys who tried out for the team … and I know they would love to have this opportunity,” said Harms. “When you have this kind of opportunity it’s best to go out and enjoy it as much as you can but also take advantage of the time that you have because it’s not always there and the game doesn’t last forever.”

» rmccarthy@brandonsun.com